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Nurse---10 hour shift---when to pump?!

Okay, so reading up on pumping at work and worrying a little bit! I am a nurse and I work 7 ten hour days in a row... Then have 7 days off. So I feel like it will be hard to have a "schedule" that won't mess with my supply. It's going to be hard for me at work to get away to pump because each time I have to find other nurses willing to watch my patients and it is a VERY busy floor so I don't think it will be easy! Now I don't have to go back to work until the end of April, but I'm already a lil worried about it. I don't want it to be too hard and give up. I don't have much options. I can pump right before work. Then for 10 hours, I have two 15 min breaks and one 30 min lunch. Yikes... I know. I don't have to worry about coverage for my lunch. Just for my breaks. I work 12:30 pm - 11 pm. My lunch is at 4:15 pm. What do you guys suggest?! Maybe be to work early and pump right before, at lunch, then combine my two breaks around 8 for a 30 min pumping session. Then pump or feed when I get home? I don't know... I hope I get enough in each pumping session to give to daycare and my bf to feed while I'm gone. Worried I also hate asking other ppl to do extra work to cover me. We usually don't take our breaks for real.

Re: Nurse---10 hour shift---when to pump

Car pump You may be able to pump in the car while driving in in the "morning"

Ideally, during that 10 hours, you should pump 3 times. It depends on your supply. You might be able to get away with 2 if you car pump on the way in and the way out. That might look like this:
Pump at noon
Pump at lunch
Pump at 8
Pump in the car on the way home

Have any of your coworkers nursed and pumped? If so, they might have some suggestions or would be willing to let you sneak off.

I would suggest not taking everything apart between sessions. Just stick the horns and bottles into a cooler or fridge as is, as that helps with time. There are hands free bras, or you could wear a sports bra that you modified into a pumping bra under your scrubs. There is also this band thing you wear under your regular nursing bra to hold the horns. Then you don't have the hassle of holding them, and if you are already wearing some sort of hands free getup, it saves you some time.

Don't forget your compressions. That can speed things up a bit. But if your supply isn't quite right, pump for 5 minutes past when you stop seeing droplets of milk come out easily.

There are several nurses here, and I hope they chime in. There have also been some doctors and veterinarians, and we manage to make it work out somehow. I have a colleague who works overnights 4 nights every 10 days or something like that, and she pumps while on but hardly ever while off.

Re: Nurse---10 hour shift---when to pump

I work 7a-7:30p and pump at 9am, 1pmish, and 5pmish. Sometimes I have to pump at night after the baby goes to bed or in the AM on my off days to make up if I'm short.

I would recommend that you pump while driving on your way to work, pump at lunch, pump at 8, and then pump on your way home from work. Feed the baby often in between shifts. Also, try to feed the baby right before you leave. It is not the best situation but probably the most realistic. I would recommend trying to build up a small freezer stash to make up for those short days. I pumped every AM the month prior to returning to work to build up a small stash (usually would require 2 days to equal one bottle's worth). I kept doing this even on my off days till I got my work routine down and then just eliminated this pumping session.

~DD born 6/7/11
Successfully and while at work for 1 year. Now we are still till who knows...

Re: Nurse---10 hour shift---when to pump

UI'm a nurse and work 12 hour shift 7a to 7p. I usually feed at 430 then pump at work about 8 then pump again at 0030 then one more time around 0430. I probably could get away with pumping twice at work but sometimes my baby eats just a little and sometimes when I'm gone he eats a lot. While I'm home during the day sleeping my dh brings him to me to feed and he usually takes a long nap with me. The one good thing about my job is I do have time to pump since I work in newborn nursery. Probably if I worked a busier floor like icu I would have to negotiate with my coworkers. But the way I think about it I am just taking my breaks that I'm allowed. Before I started pumping at work I never took my breaks and would never take my full lunch. So really I'm just taking the time we're allowed.

[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
I am Kate
Wife to Jason
Mom to Aubrey 4/06 queen
Mom to Nathan 5/08 Relactated for him and he got EBM for a year
Mom to Jack 8/11

Re: Nurse---10 hour shift---when to pump

Originally Posted by @llli*miguelsmamma

Not a new pump. . I got it free. I'm pretty frugal. But I guess it would probably be better considering my work schedule to buy one.

Well, yes. Considering a pump, a professional grade pump, only has about 400 hours of life in it, and if you plan to pump 3 times a day at 30 minutes each, that pump will last a year. Seems like a big deal, but over the next year of pumping, if you pump once a day, even buying a $250 pump will be less than $1 a day. And THAT is frugal More frugal than running into problems with your supply because your pump isn't at its best and having to buy formula.

Re: Nurse---10 hour shift---when to pump

The best pump will depend a little on a few things. First, will you have a dedicated convenient room in which to pump? A hospital grade pump is larger and less portable so it would be a bit harder to tote around with you. This would not be so much of an issue if you can just leave it in a pumping room during your work week. On the other hand, if you will need to pump wherever you can find the space and time, you may want a more portable pump like a PISA or Freestyle.

Your supply and how well you respond to a pump is also a factor. If you struggle with getting enough and tend to let down slowly with a pump, renting a hospital grade pump may be a good idea. I dealt with OALD/OS so luckily this was never an issue for me. My PISA worked great.

I work 10 to 12 hour shifts, and true breaks are not really a reality. I still managed to pump for each of my LO's until after they were a year old. My goal was to pump for 15 to 20 minutes every 2.5 to 3 hours. I with pp suggestions. Use a hands free bra or strap so you can pump both sides at the same time and still multi-task. I usually would make phone calls, eat lunch, or type up charts while pumping. I also would leave everything set up throughout my shift and just store it all in a bag in the fridge. That way, all I had to do at each session was hook up and pump. At the end of a session, I would change bottles and that was it. There is no need to wash or dismantle everything until you get home at night.

Re: Nurse---10 hour shift---when to pump

I work 7a-7p three days a week. My hospital has a lactation room with a hospital grade pump. Find out if your has one too. this way all you will need are the attachments! I pump 4 times.... 8-11-2-5. Nurse before going to work and as soon as I get home. I live 8 miles away from work, not worth pumping in the car. talk to your co-workers beforehand about your decision to BF and your need of pumping, My co-workers are awesome and very supportive, as I help them out as well and go the extra mile as a thank you for those few minutes (20 min) that it takes me to pump. I don't do pt care anymore, but when I did. I would tell my pt that I would be away for a few minutes and try to ask them if they needed anything prior to leaving the floor (pain med, bathroom, etc...) this way my co-workers where needed less as I had anticipated my pt's needs beforehand.

Working mommy to Cat, Nikki, Brandon and baby Lucas exclusively for the second time! we made it 21 months with previous son and 9 months and counting with Lucas